The Basilisk's roar split the morning sky like thunder, shaking the wooden walls of the village to their core. Its scales gleamed with a sickly sheen, green and black, each as tough as forged steel. Venom dripped from its fangs, sizzling where it struck the dirt, the ground itself hissing under its touch.
The villagers screamed. Some scrambled for cover; others froze, rooted by terror. Even seasoned hunters paled at the sight.
Rank 6.
The words reverberated in every hunter's mind. Monsters of this class were not supposed to come so close. The Blackwood Forest held dangers, yes, but a Basilisk? That was a calamity.
Elias barked orders, voice firm despite the quake in his jaw. "Archers! Aim for the eyes! Spears at the ready! Don't let it breach the gates!"
Arrows flew in arcs, striking the beast's armored hide. Most shattered uselessly, a few lodging shallowly before being shaken loose. The Basilisk reared back, tail whipping across the clearing. The force splintered several barricades in one swing, sending hunters sprawling.
Aiden stood among them, dagger in hand, every muscle trembling—not from fear, but from the violent pull of the hunger inside him. His chest heaved, heart pounding in time with the Basilisk's steps.
This wasn't just another fight. This was survival.
---
The Basilisk surged forward, venom spraying from its fangs. A wave of green-black liquid arced through the air toward the gates. Hunters dove aside. Two men weren't fast enough—the venom splashed across their shields, and the wood disintegrated instantly, leaving only smoking fragments.
One of the men cried out as the mist grazed his arm. Flesh blackened, muscle sizzling. He collapsed screaming.
Panic spread through the line.
Aiden clenched his dagger tighter. His vision swam red at the edges, the hunger screaming. Every nerve in his body burned with the command to act.
And then the Basilisk's eyes fell on him.
Its slit pupils glowed with a pale, sickly light. For a heartbeat, Aiden's body locked in place, his muscles stiffening. Stone crept along his fingers, the beginnings of petrification clawing at his skin.
"No—!" he growled, sheer will shoving back against it. His body shook violently, blood pounding in his temples. The hunger flared like a wildfire, burning the petrification away in a surge of unnatural energy.
The Basilisk hissed, almost… startled.
Elias saw it. His eyes widened.
---
The beast lunged. Its maw opened wide, fangs longer than a man's arm, snapping down to crush Aiden whole.
And Aiden moved.
Faster than he ever had before.
He dove forward, slipping under the snapping jaws, rolling along the dirt. His dagger, wreathed faintly in that crimson aura he still struggled to understand, slashed across the Basilisk's underbelly. The blade should never have pierced—but it sank in, tearing through scales like brittle glass.
The Basilisk shrieked, thrashing. Its tail whipped again, gouging trenches in the ground. Hunters stared in disbelief.
No one that young. No one that unranked should be able to cut a Basilisk.
But Aiden wasn't like them.
---
The hunger took hold.
He felt it boiling in his veins, sharpening his senses, making every motion effortless. His body blurred, weaving past the Basilisk's strikes. He darted along its side, dagger flashing. Each slash landed with precision, carving deep into armored scales. Black blood sprayed, hissing against the earth.
The beast bellowed, its fury shaking the air.
Arrows rained again, emboldened by Aiden's assault. They struck the Basilisk's wounds, sinking deeper this time.
For a moment, hope flickered.
Then the Basilisk reared back, sucking in air.
Aiden's instincts screamed. "Move!" he roared, but the warning came too late.
The beast spewed a cone of venomous mist across the battlefield. Hunters cried out, shields melted, the air thick with choking poison. Several collapsed, coughing blood.
Aiden's rage flared. His hunger surged like a tidal wave. He couldn't watch them die.
He lunged directly into the mist.
Gas burned at his skin, his lungs screamed—but the crimson energy devoured it, neutralizing the venom as if consuming it whole. His body trembled violently, cracks of red light flashing faintly beneath his skin.
And in that state, he struck.
He scaled the beast's leg, dagger biting deep, climbing with unnatural speed. The Basilisk thrashed, but Aiden clung like a shadow, pulling himself up along its back.
The hunters below watched in stunned silence as he drove his dagger into the back of its skull, burying the blade to the hilt.
The Basilisk shrieked, tail whipping, body convulsing. Aiden roared with it, pressing harder, crimson aura spilling from him in waves.
And then—
With a final heave—
The Basilisk collapsed.
The ground trembled with its fall.
---
Silence.
The hunters stood frozen, staring at the impossible scene before them. Aiden still knelt atop the beast's corpse, chest heaving, eyes glowing faintly crimson. His dagger dripped with steaming black blood.
He had killed a Rank 6 monster.
At sixteen years old.
The whispers began. Fear. Awe. Suspicion.
"That's… impossible."
"What is he?"
"Did you see his eyes?"
Aiden staggered to his feet, pulling his blade free. He looked down at the hunters—at Elias, who stood motionless, jaw clenched, gaze sharp as a blade.
Elias didn't speak. He didn't need to. His eyes said everything: I knew it.
And for the first time, Aiden realized the truth.
There was no hiding anymore.
The village had seen.
And they would never look at him the same again.
---